HRMusing

THINK DIFFERENT - AGAIN!

In 1984, Lee Clow of TBWA/Media Arts Labs in collaboration with Apple created the commercial above. It challenged us to Think Different by depicting……….

…The crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. The ones who are not fond of the rules, the ones that have no respect for the status quo. And while you can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them - about the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things, they push the human race forward. Some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

This is the time for organizations to re-invent themselves, find new markets, expand  their influence and grow leaders. Look around your organization for the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels - the ones who push you to be different  -  to see things differently. Work along side them and challenge the current state of things. These  are the ones who are your future - they are the ones who are just crazy enough to struggle upstream against the  status quo and propel you forward.

KNIHT TNEREFFID!

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” – Robert McClosky

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.” – Albert Einstein

“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation” – Chinese Proverb

“Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.” – Andre Gide

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway

“A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with.” Kenneth Wells

Silence is a source of great strength.” – Lao Tzu

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” -  Ralph Nichols

“Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.”- Robert Greenleaf

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”- Stephen R. Covey

“Wag More….Bark Less” - sign on a tree at the dog park

I’m Listening….

LEADERSHIP - Easy as HERDING CATS!!!!

This video was introduced in 2006 by EDS with the tag line “Information, ideas, technology; we make ‘em go where you want them to go.”

That’s what leaders do - get ‘em where you want them to go even when they are bent on going where they want to go.

This is the transcript of the commercial a bit doctored up. Watch the video but use this version of the script!

“This man right here is my great grandfather. He’s the first leader of employees  in our family.

Leading employees … don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy.

Anybody can herd cattle. Holdin’ together smart, inquisitive, creative staff, well, that’s another thing altogether.

Being a leader is probably about the toughest thing I think I’ve ever done.

I got this one this morning, right here. And if you look at his face … it’s just ripped to shreds, you know?

You see the movies, you hear the stories. It’s … I’m livin’ a dream. … Not everyone can do what we do.

I wouldn’t do nothin’ else.

It ain’t an easy job. But when you lead the team, and you ain’t lost a one of ‘em, ain’t a feelin’ like it in the world.”

Wagons ho!

Layaway may sound like an old-school concept, especially in today’s “buy now, pay later” society. But the idea of setting aside goods to pay off gradually is making a comeback, and is being praised as a way to regain control of family finances and make sure holiday giving doesn’t fall victim to the economic downturn.

Despite the economic “meltdown” of 2008 and increased unemployment levels, estimates indicate that the impending surge in baby boomer retirements will result in a labor shortage of 10 million workers by 2010 (Dychtwald, Erickson, & Morrison, 2006).  If just 10% of these retirees exit leadership positions, the U.S. workforce will soon face a shortage of 1 million leaders.  To compound the problem, the need for leadership talent is a key concern for line executives and human resource professionals for at least three reasons:

(a) increasing expectations of shareholders;

(b) the volatility of the current financial market; and

(c) rapid changes in the business environment, including globalization, evolving business strategies, continuous technological changes, and shifting demographics (Gandossy, Salob, Greenslade, Younger, & Guarnieri, 2007; Schein 2005).

Given this potential leadership shortage and the need for future leadership talent, efforts aimed at building leadership pipelines and developing the next generation of leaders is justifiable and required.

So take a lesson from retailer’s today – identify your potential leaders, set aside incremental learning  and pay as you go. Reap the rewards for the future by investing incrementally today.

CHA-CHING!